Aloha Chair and Members,

I write in strong support of Bill 9 because it is past time that Maui County reclaim the Apartment District (A-1 and A-2 zoned properties) for the residents it was originally intended to serve. For decades, these properties have been exploited by outside investors and speculative interests under the so-called Minatoya Exemption, displacing working families, driving up rents, and contributing to overpopulation and car saturation.

Nowhere is this abuse clearer than in South Maui, which has become a textbook example of a sell-out community. Entire complexes once built for local housing have been flipped into short-term vacation rentals, turning neighborhoods into transient hotel corridors. South Maui has been sacrificed to the highest bidder—residents priced out, kupuna pushed aside, and essential workers forced to commute from Upcountry or Central Maui just to keep this part of the island running. This is not community—it is commodification, and it must end.

Bill 9 is the first serious step in decades to reverse this sell-out. Returning these units to long-term use will:

✅ Increase housing availability for residents and essential workers,
✅ Reduce speculative buying pressure and stabilize property values,
✅ Decrease wildfire risks and overpopulation pressures acknowledged under the Governor’s emergency proclamation, and
✅ Uphold the County’s kuleana to its people—not investor ROI.

Some will argue that Bill 9 unfairly impacts STVR owners who “played by the rules.” But let’s be honest—the “rules” were written to favor developers, not Maui residents. If South Maui is the example of what following those rules leads to, then the rules were wrong from the start.

That said, if this Council is concerned about transitioning STVR properties back to housing quickly, a temporary, resident-first incentive program could be considered. For example, the County could reinvest a small portion of new tax revenue from post-fire economic redevelopment to help owners who immediately convert to long-term rentals or workforce housing. This would not be a bailout; it would be a strategic, short-term measure to restore housing to residents faster.

But make no mistake: Bill 9 must pass as written, without carve-outs, without watering down its intent, and without giving South Maui’s investor class yet another special deal. Maui is not for sale, and our Apartment Districts are not investment toys—they are our homes, our future, and our kuleana.

Please stand firm, pass Bill 9, and start taking back what has been sold out from under us.

Executive session to make sure they can’t be held accountable when they kill this in the committee

Info document from D. Ting dated 7/2025 contains a list from January 2020. Has it been rechecked!

Vote yes, or resign

If you cannot stand with the people of Maui and vote in favor of Bill 9, then you should seriously consider resigning.

Alice Lee’s Leadership, Housing Policy Failures, and Liability to Maui County

Prepared for Public Review and Policy Consideration

Date: July 23, 2025

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Executive Summary

This report critically examines Alice Lee’s leadership as Maui County Council Chair in the context of the island’s housing crisis, post-Lāhainā wildfire recovery, and deliberations over Bill 9, which seeks to phase out short-term vacation rentals (STRs) in apartment districts (A-1 and A-2 zoned properties).

While Lee is a long-time political figure with a reputation for civic engagement, her decisions, public statements, and policy priorities reveal a consistent misalignment with the urgent humanitarian needs of Maui residents. In particular:
• She has delayed housing projects crucial to wildfire recovery and affordable housing development.
• She has prioritized investor and property rights rhetoric over tangible relief for displaced residents.
• Her failure to effectively implement or enforce emergency housing relief measures undermined efforts to convert STRs to long-term rentals.

This report concludes that Alice Lee has become a political liability in Maui County’s housing recovery efforts, and her leadership approach threatens to perpetuate displacement, homelessness, and long-term economic instability.

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Background
• Post-Lāhainā Fire Housing Emergency: Governor Josh Green issued emergency proclamations after the 2023 and 2024 fires, citing a housing crisis of unprecedented scale. Tax incentives and streamlined regulations were introduced to encourage STR owners to convert to long-term rentals for fire victims and displaced residents.
• Bill 9: A legislative proposal to phase out STRs in apartment-zoned properties (A-1 and A-2), aiming to restore housing for local residents and address displacement and overcrowding worsened by STR proliferation.
• Alice Lee’s Role: As Council Chair, Lee holds significant influence over agenda-setting, committee referrals, and deliberation timelines, making her a pivotal figure in determining the speed and effectiveness of housing policy implementation.

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Findings: Ten Key Leadership Failures

1. Delays in Housing Development Projects
• Lee pulled major housing-related agenda items, including Honua‘ula and Kīhei-Mākena, citing procedural requirements rather than seeking expedited solutions. These delays stalled projects that could have provided immediate relief to displaced families.

2. Neglect of Critical Board Appointments
• Under Lee’s leadership, 57 volunteer board vacancies—including homelessness and planning committees—remained unfilled for months, directly delaying policy implementation and housing program oversight.

3. Resistance to Emergency STR Phase-Out
• Despite the Governor’s emergency proclamation, Lee resisted calls to aggressively phase out STRs or mandate further conversions to long-term rentals, undermining humanitarian relief efforts.

4. Prioritization of Investor Rights Over Resident Needs
• Lee framed Bill 9 and STR phase-outs as threats to property rights, even though data shows 85% of STR owners are out-of-state investors, while thousands of Maui residents remain displaced or housing insecure.

5. Inadequate Oversight of Emergency Housing Programs
• Post-fire, only ~10% of STRs converted to long-term rentals despite available tax incentives. Lee failed to propose or enforce stricter compliance measures or expanded incentives to meet urgent housing demand.

6. Misplaced Focus on Taxpayer Risk
• Lee repeatedly warned of legal and financial liability if Bill 9 passed but did not weigh the far greater economic and social cost of mass displacement, homelessness, and emergency shelter operations.

7. No Plan for Transition or Compensation
• Although state law supports county regulation of land use, Lee offered no structured compensation or transition framework for STR operators—creating uncertainty that discouraged proactive housing shifts.

8. Budget Oversight Contradictions
• Lee questioned expanding the $1.51B county budget while simultaneously leaving ~600 county staff vacancies unaddressed—limiting the government’s capacity to handle housing, planning, and recovery efforts.

9. Amplification of Investor Fears
• Her public statements disproportionately focused on STR owners’ potential losses, effectively acting as a voice for investor interests rather than championing the needs of local residents.

10. Failure to Lead During Historic Crisis
• Despite decades of political experience, Lee’s leadership has not translated into decisive action during Maui’s housing emergency. Her record reflects political caution over moral obligation, leaving Maui residents to bear the consequences of inaction.

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Humanitarian Impact
• Displacement: Thousands remain displaced post-Lāhainā, with limited progress in securing permanent housing despite available STR inventory.
• Emergency Proclamations Undermined: The intent of Governor Green’s emergency orders—to repurpose existing housing stock for victims—was weakened by political resistance at the county level.
• Community Burden: Prolonged STR operations in apartment districts contribute to higher rents, overcrowding, and worsening homelessness, directly conflicting with the county’s public trust duty to prioritize residents.

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Conclusion

Alice Lee’s leadership record during Maui’s most pressing housing crisis reveals policy inertia, misplaced priorities, and a failure to meet humanitarian obligations.

Bill 9 represents a necessary corrective step toward stabilizing Maui’s housing market and providing immediate relief to residents. Who can predict the future? We can only learn from the past—and the past has failed. Continuing Lee’s leadership approach risks repeating those failures and prolonging suffering for Maui’s people.

Kailee and Keone Akashi
Waikapu Residents

Aloha Chair Kama

Support Bill 9 – Protect Maui Residents, Not Speculative Investors

Why Reforming STVRs in the Apartment District (A-1 and A-2 Zoned Properties) Matters

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1. The Real Barrier to Local Ownership: Speculative Pricing, Not Assessments
• Claim by Paia Councilmember: Local buyers may not be able to afford special assessments if they purchase former STVR units.
• Reality:
• Local families are priced out because STVR speculation has inflated property values, not because of assessments.
• Assessments are temporary, finite costs, whereas inflated purchase prices mean permanent mortgage debt.
• Local buyers already make informed decisions about assessments when purchasing other condos across Maui.

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2. Subprime Crisis Lessons: Don’t Repeat History
• During the subprime mortgage crisis, Maui second homes were dumped or foreclosed upon because buyers were placed into risky “creative financing” loans designed to maximize investor acquisitions.
• Some lenders aggressively pushed subprime mortgages, putting Maui families into unsustainable, over-leveraged deals.
• Today’s STVR market mirrors this speculative bubble: high-risk investor purchases push prices beyond local reach, leaving residents vulnerable when the market shifts.

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3. Phasing Out STVRs = Lower Prices, More Resident Ownership
• Removing STVRs in A-1 and A-2 zones would:
✅ Deflate speculative pricing and return units to resident-driven market values.
✅ Create realistic entry points for local buyers, even with the possibility of assessments.
✅ Shift housing policy back to serving Maui residents instead of protecting investor ROI.

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4. The Smokescreen Problem
• Using special assessments as an excuse to oppose Bill 9 is misguided at best, disingenuous at worst.
• Framing this as “protecting locals” ignores the root cause of unaffordability—investor-driven STVR speculation—and risks becoming a smokescreen to maintain high investor valuations.

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5. Bill 9 Aligns With Maui’s Long-Term Interests
• Reduces overcrowding, car saturation, and wildfire risks by easing investor-driven overpopulation in residential zones.
• Supports local families by prioritizing housing for residents, not tourism speculation.
• Upholds the County’s duty to serve its people, protect public trust, and prioritize community well-being over speculative interests.

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Conclusion

The real financial risk for local families is buying into a speculative, inflated market—not facing occasional assessments. Bill 9 restores fairness, housing stability, and long-term community sustainability.

Lore Menin
Kihei Resident
Maui Bus Rider
STVR owner